Expanding bullet

ABSTRACT

A bullet including a relatively non-deformable forward nosepiece, a tailpiece constructed of non-deformable material spaced rearwardly of the nosepiece, an intermediate piece of deformable material (preferably more dense) disposed between the nose and tailpieces, and a cylindrical jacket telescoped snugly about the intermediate piece and at least the rear and front end portions of the nose and tailpieces. The nose and tailpieces are constructed of a material such as steel, the intermediate piece is constructed of a material such as lead and the jacket is constructed of a material such as copper.

Anderson [451 Sept. 4, 1973 1 EXPANDING BULLET [76] Inventor: George M. Anderson, 360 G St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84103 [22] Filed: July 21, 19/1 [21] Appl. No.: 164,825

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 798,879, Feb. 13, 1969,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 102/91, 102/923 8,301 1909 Great Britain 102/921 8,790 1898 Great Britain 102/923 527,611 1940 Great 102/923 Primary Examiner-Robert F. Stahl AttorneyC1arence A OBrien and Harvey Bl Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT A bullet including a relatively non-deformable forward nosepiece, a tailpiece constructed of non-deformable material spaced rearwardly of the nosepiece, an intermediate piece of deformable material (preferably more dense) disposed between the nose and tailpieces, and a cylindrical jacket telescoped snugly about the intermediate piece and at least the rear and front end portions of the nose and tailpieces. The nose and tailpieces are constructed of a material such as steel, the intermediate piece is constructed of a material such as lead and the jacket is constructed of a material such as copper.

12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDsEP mm 3356158 SHEELZ 0F 2 Fig. 7

I 50 4e 54 I 46 George M. Anderson I N VE N TOR EXPANDING BULLET This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 798,879, filed Feb. 13, I969, now abandoned.

The bullet of the instant invention has been designed to provide a projectile capable of piercing large game and yet including a portion thereof, spaced rearward of its forward end, which will mushroom extremely fast when the forward end of the bullet or projectile strikes its target. In this manner, given a particular caliber of rifle such as a 30-06, cartridges of only two different loads need be provided. As an example, a cartridge of about 140 grains can be provided for use on medium size game and about 200 or 220 grain cartridges may be used against the heaviest game.

The most important feature of the bullet is that it is provided with a relatively non-deformable forward end, a relatively non-deformable rear end and a deformable center portion which is longitudinally compressed, and thus transversely expanded, when the forward end portion of the bullet is decelerated upon impact with the target and the momentum of the rear end portion of the bullet drives forward upon the rear end of the deformable center section. The three longitudinally arranged sections of the bullet are encased in a suitable jacket of reasonably deformable but stiff material such as copper which will be capable of retaining the three sections of the bullet together as a single section during the flight of the bullet but which will allow the center section of the bullet to transversely expand as it is longitudinally compressed.

The main object of this invention is to provide an improved bullet construction which will be capable of penetrating the heaviest game and also operative to mushroom quickly, at a point spaced rearward of its forward end, upon initial penetration.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bullet in accordance with the preceding object and which may be readily constructed for use in conventional rifle shells and the like.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge in accordance with the preceding objects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and adaptable to substantially all types of rifles so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and useful in conjunction with substantially all rifles.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a cartridge constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the bullet portion of the cartridge illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of bullet constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rear end portion of the modified bullet illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a rifle cartridge utilizing a second modified form of bullet constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 77 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the bullet illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates a rifle cartridge such as a 30-06 cartridge. The cartridge 10 includes the usual shell 12 and a bullet referred to in general by the reference numeral vl4. The bullet 14 includes three major body pieces consisting of a steel nosepiece 16, a steel tailpiece l8, and a lead intermediate piece 20. The bullet also includes a copper jacket 22.

From FIG. 2 of the drawings it may be seen that the rear end portion of the steel nosepiece 16 includes a circumferential groove 24 and that the copper jacket 22 includes an integral end wall 26. The tailpiece 18 is seated in the closed end of the jacket 22 and thereafter the lead intermediate piece 20 is placed in the open end of the jacket 22 in front of the steel tailpiece 18. Thereafter, the rear end of the steel nosepiece 16 is placed within the front end of the jacket 22 forward of the lead intermediate piece 20 and the forward end portion of the jacket 22 is crimped as at 28 so as to be seated in the circumferential groove 24 thereby retaining the three pieces 16, 18 and 20 as an integral unit.

In FIG. 4 of the drawings there may be seen a second form of bullet referred to in general by the reference numeral 14' and which is substantially identical to the bullet 14, with a few exceptions, and has its component parts designated by prime numerals corresponding to the numerals given the similar components of the bullet 14.

The bullet l4 differs from the bullet 14 in that the tailpiece 18 has a blind bore 30 formed in its rear end which is filled with a lead plug 32. Further, in both the bullets l4 and 14, the rear end of the nosepiece is dished as at 34 and the front end face of the tailpiece is dished as at 36. Of course, by dishing the rear and front end faces of the nose and tailpieces the end portions of the intermediate sections 20 and 20' adjacent the nose and tailpieces are somewhat confined against transverse expanding and thus the center portions of the intermediate sections 20 and 20' are those portions which are first expanded upon contact of the nosepieces 16 and l6'-with the target.

In constructing the bullets 14 and 14', the tailpieces l8 and 18' are placed within the copper jackets 22 and 22 with a flux coat 37. The intermediate sections 20 and 20' are then placed in the jackets 22 and 22' with a flux coat 39 and thereafter the nosepiece or front sections 16 and 16' are placed in the jackets 22 and 22'. Then, the assembled bullet is placed in a die under pressure so as to exclude all air and the bullet is sized. Then, the bullet is removed from the die and heated so as to solder the tail and intermediate pieces to the copper jackets 22 and 22. By this manner of assembly, the three sections of the bullets are retained together as integral units even in extreme use (high velocity). Of course, the thickness of the copper jackets 22 and 22 determines the rate of expansion of the intermediate sections 20 and 20.

With attention now invited more specifically to FIGS. 6-8 of the drawings, there may be seen a second modified form of bullet referred to in general by the reference numeral 40. The bullet 40 is similar to the bullet 14 except that the tailpiece or rear section 42 thereof is constructed of copper and includes an integral forwardly projecting sleeve portion 44 which secures the nosepiece 46 and the intermediate piece 48 to the tailpiece 42, the latter having a lead plug 50 in its rear end. Of course, the nosepiece 46 is provided with a circumferential groove 52 similar to grooves 24 and 24' in which the forward end portion of the sleeve portion 44 is crimped as at 54.

In constructing the bullet 40, the intermediate section 48 may also be soldered within the sleeve portion 44 so as to assure that the sections 42, 46 and 48 will be retained together as an integral unit even under extreme usage conditions.

Depending upon the game upon which the bullets are to be used, the nosepieces of the various bullets 14, 14' and 40 may be hardened so as to further resist being deformed and to result in greater penetration power.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. An elongated bullet including three individual body pieces, each including front and rear end portions, spaced longitudinally of the bullet in end-to-end aligned relation, said body pieces including a nose piece, a tail piece disposed rearward of the nose piece and an intermediate piece of deformable material disposed between said nose and tail pieces, said nose and tail pieces each being constructed of a material less deformable than the material of which the intermediate piece is constructed, a connecting sleeve including front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, the intermediate portion of said sleeve being snugly telescoped about said intermediate piece and the forward end portion of said sleeve being telescoped over and secured to at least the rear end portion of said nose piece, the rear end portion of said sleeve being secured to at least the forward portion end of said tail piece and said sleeve being constructed of stiff but expandable and rupturable material, whereby high speed impact of said nose piece with a target offering at least minimal resistance will decelerate said nose piece and the momentum of said tail and intermediate pieces will cause the intermediate piece to be axially compressed, and thus radially expanded between said tail and nose pieces to expand and rupture the portions of said sleeve disposed about said intermediate piece.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said intermediate section is constructed primarily of lead.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said sleeve is constructed primarily of copper. v

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein the rear and front end portions of said nose and tail pieces, respectively are concave and the front and rear end portions of said intermediate piece are convexed.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said sleeve includes a rear end face wall against whose forward face the rear end of said tail piece is abutted.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein the rear end portion of said nose piece includes a circumferentially extending and radially outwardly opening groove into which the forward circumferential edge portions of said sleeve are laterally inwardly directed.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein the rear end portion of said nose piece includes a circumferentially extending and radially outwardly opening groove into which the forward circumferential edge portions of said sleeve are laterally inwardly directed, said sleeve including a rear end wall against whose forward face the rear end face of said tail piece is abutted.

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tail piece is constructed of steel.

9. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tail piece has a rearwardly opening blind bore formed therein, and a plug of dense material, such as lead, disposed in said blind bore.

10. An elongated bullet including three major body pieces each including front and rear end portions, spaced longitudinally of the bullet in end-to-end aligned relation, said body pieces including a nose piece, an intermediate piece disposed behind the hose piece and constructed of a soft deformable material and a tail piece disposed behind the intermediate piece, said nose and tail pieces each being constructed of a material less deformable than said intermediate piece, connecting sleeve means including front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, the intermediate portion of said sleeve means being snugly telescoped about said intermediate piece, the front end portion of said sleeve means being telescoped over and secured to at least the rear end portion of said nose piece, the rear end portion of said sleeve means being stationarily supported from at least the forward end portion of said tail piece, and said sleeve means being less deformable than the material of which said intermediate piece is constructed and yet reasonably deformable and rupturable, whereby high speed impact of said nose piece with a target offering at least minimal resistance will decelerate said nose piece and the momentum of said tail will cause the intermediate piece to be axially compressed, and thus radially expanded, between said tail and nose pieces to expand and rupture the portions of said sleeve means disposed about said intermediate piece.

1 1. in combination of claim 10 wherein said tail piece and sleeve means are integrally formed from the same material and said sleeve means defines a forward extension of the forward outer peripheral portion of the tail piece.

12. An elongated bullet including three major body sections, each including front and rear end portions, spaced longitudinally of the bullet in end-to-end aligned relation, said sections including reasonably non-deformable front and rear sections and an intermediate section more readily deformable than the front and rear sections and disposed between the latter, connecting sleeve means including front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, said intermediate portion of said sleeve means being snugly telescoped about said intermediate section and the front end portion of said sleeve means being telescoped over and secured to at least the rear end portion of said front section, the rear end portion of said sleeve means being stationarily supported from at least the forward end portion of the rear section, said sleeve means being intermediate section to be axially compressed, and thus radially expanded, between the rear section and the front section to expand and rupture the portions of said sleeve means disposed about said intermediate section. 

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said intermediate section is constructed primarily of lead.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said sleeve is constructed primarily of copper.
 4. The combination of claim 1 wherein the rear and front end portions of said nose and tail pieces, respectively are concave and the front and rear end portions of said intermediate piece are convexed.
 5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said sleeve includes a rear end face wall against whose forward face the rear end of said tail piece is abutted.
 6. The combination of claim 1 wherein the rear end portion of said nose piece includes a circumferentially extending and radially outwardly opening groove into which the forward circumferential edge portions of said sleeve are laterally inwardly directed.
 7. The combination of claim 1 wherein the rear end portion of said nose piece includes a circumferentially extending and radially outwardly opening groove into which the forward circumferential edge portions of said sleeve are laterally inwardly directed, said sleeve including a rear end walL against whose forward face the rear end face of said tail piece is abutted.
 8. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tail piece is constructed of steel.
 9. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tail piece has a rearwardly opening blind bore formed therein, and a plug of dense material, such as lead, disposed in said blind bore.
 10. An elongated bullet including three major body pieces each including front and rear end portions, spaced longitudinally of the bullet in end-to-end aligned relation, said body pieces including a nose piece, an intermediate piece disposed behind the hose piece and constructed of a soft deformable material and a tail piece disposed behind the intermediate piece, said nose and tail pieces each being constructed of a material less deformable than said intermediate piece, connecting sleeve means including front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, the intermediate portion of said sleeve means being snugly telescoped about said intermediate piece, the front end portion of said sleeve means being telescoped over and secured to at least the rear end portion of said nose piece, the rear end portion of said sleeve means being stationarily supported from at least the forward end portion of said tail piece, and said sleeve means being less deformable than the material of which said intermediate piece is constructed and yet reasonably deformable and rupturable, whereby high speed impact of said nose piece with a target offering at least minimal resistance will decelerate said nose piece and the momentum of said tail will cause the intermediate piece to be axially compressed, and thus radially expanded, between said tail and nose pieces to expand and rupture the portions of said sleeve means disposed about said intermediate piece.
 11. In combination of claim 10 wherein said tail piece and sleeve means are integrally formed from the same material and said sleeve means defines a forward extension of the forward outer peripheral portion of the tail piece.
 12. An elongated bullet including three major body sections, each including front and rear end portions, spaced longitudinally of the bullet in end-to-end aligned relation, said sections including reasonably non-deformable front and rear sections and an intermediate section more readily deformable than the front and rear sections and disposed between the latter, connecting sleeve means including front and rear end portions and an intermediate portion, said intermediate portion of said sleeve means being snugly telescoped about said intermediate section and the front end portion of said sleeve means being telescoped over and secured to at least the rear end portion of said front section, the rear end portion of said sleeve means being stationarily supported from at least the forward end portion of the rear section, said sleeve means being constructed of a material less deformable than said intermediate section and yet a material which is reasonably deformable and rupturable, whereby high speed impact of the front section with a target offering at least minimal resistance will decelerate said front section and the momentum of the rear section will cause the intermediate section to be axially compressed, and thus radially expanded, between the rear section and the front section to expand and rupture the portions of said sleeve means disposed about said intermediate section. 